Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Reassured
I was standing in the bar last night
mind astray
thanks to dark kisses & a lil bit of alcohol
and all of a sudden there was this
G
I
R
L
And through her eyes
her soul looked broken
and she watched me
w
a
t
c
h
i
n
g her
and smiled a tear-stained smile
reassuring me
So I smiled back shyly,
sipped my drink,
and danced another dance with my dark man.
-bj
[11/22/2001]
I was standing in the bar last night
mind astray
thanks to dark kisses & a lil bit of alcohol
and all of a sudden there was this
G
I
R
L
And through her eyes
her soul looked broken
and she watched me
w
a
t
c
h
i
n
g her
and smiled a tear-stained smile
reassuring me
So I smiled back shyly,
sipped my drink,
and danced another dance with my dark man.
-bj
[11/22/2001]
La Dolce Vita
I want to hold his hand
and climb to the top
of the highest...most
m
a
j
e
s
t
i
c
tree
...late at night
because that's our favorite time
and his eyes will light my way
and when we finally make it
I'll reach up to the sky
and borrow a star
and we'll play with magic
until the sun wakes up
and lends motivation
for the early-morning
joggers.
So we'll quietly put the star back
and he'll whisper in my ear
and I, of course, agree
and we tiptoe back to his house
to lose ourselves in each other.
-bj
[c. 2001]
I want to hold his hand
and climb to the top
of the highest...most
m
a
j
e
s
t
i
c
tree
...late at night
because that's our favorite time
and his eyes will light my way
and when we finally make it
I'll reach up to the sky
and borrow a star
and we'll play with magic
until the sun wakes up
and lends motivation
for the early-morning
joggers.
So we'll quietly put the star back
and he'll whisper in my ear
and I, of course, agree
and we tiptoe back to his house
to lose ourselves in each other.
-bj
[c. 2001]
speed is subjective [i.e. influenced by personal opinion].
What one might perceive as a 50-yard-dash, may in reality be a year-long marathon... As the finish line slowly comes into view, the tortoise - so to speak - the one who has maintained a slow, steady & reliable pace - with only the odd sprint, in order to preserve harmony & maintain the status quo - remains resolute and continues on. The competition is fierce; ego, ire, envy, confusion....these emotions have caused many a contestant to stumble.
The tortoise remains patient & steadfast. Pushing on toward the finish line, the tortoise watches as its competitors struggle, eluding themselves & each other, searching for short-cuts and un-deserved victory. The tortoise chuckles & maintains pace. The tortoise had prepared well for this marathon. The tortoise plays fairly. The tortoise ignores taunts & jeers from the stands & its competitors. The tortoise is determined, methodical. The tortoise knows that slow & steady wins the race.
However, the tortoise is disappointed that its competitors don't comprehend the notion of self-knowledge, self-worth -- and is crushed to see that the fans in the stands haven't even noticed its progress. They sit watching, while the other competitors trip over each other, run round in circles - their antics have turned the event into a circus-of-sorts. An entertainment venue.
Some people just don't understand personal achievement. Or what it takes to get there.
by bary alyssa johnson
What one might perceive as a 50-yard-dash, may in reality be a year-long marathon... As the finish line slowly comes into view, the tortoise - so to speak - the one who has maintained a slow, steady & reliable pace - with only the odd sprint, in order to preserve harmony & maintain the status quo - remains resolute and continues on. The competition is fierce; ego, ire, envy, confusion....these emotions have caused many a contestant to stumble.
The tortoise remains patient & steadfast. Pushing on toward the finish line, the tortoise watches as its competitors struggle, eluding themselves & each other, searching for short-cuts and un-deserved victory. The tortoise chuckles & maintains pace. The tortoise had prepared well for this marathon. The tortoise plays fairly. The tortoise ignores taunts & jeers from the stands & its competitors. The tortoise is determined, methodical. The tortoise knows that slow & steady wins the race.
However, the tortoise is disappointed that its competitors don't comprehend the notion of self-knowledge, self-worth -- and is crushed to see that the fans in the stands haven't even noticed its progress. They sit watching, while the other competitors trip over each other, run round in circles - their antics have turned the event into a circus-of-sorts. An entertainment venue.
Some people just don't understand personal achievement. Or what it takes to get there.
by bary alyssa johnson
11/26/08
She didn't entirely trust him. She didn't know why. She liked him, liked being around him, but something about him put her ill at ease. He was charismatic. Everybody agreed on that. Beloved, even. But beneath the confident exterior lay a darker side to the man. A greedy side. A side that looked before it leapt. A side that foresaw the potential future, but not necessarily an accurate portrayal of what was to come. Nobody knew yet what would occur in the following years.
He was very spiritually evolved. A soul like his should have been above such buffoonery. Unfortunately for us all, the ugliest part of his soul took power at the most inopportune of times.
-bary j.
She didn't entirely trust him. She didn't know why. She liked him, liked being around him, but something about him put her ill at ease. He was charismatic. Everybody agreed on that. Beloved, even. But beneath the confident exterior lay a darker side to the man. A greedy side. A side that looked before it leapt. A side that foresaw the potential future, but not necessarily an accurate portrayal of what was to come. Nobody knew yet what would occur in the following years.
He was very spiritually evolved. A soul like his should have been above such buffoonery. Unfortunately for us all, the ugliest part of his soul took power at the most inopportune of times.
-bary j.
03/08/09
He liked his hoodies like his liquor: dark. Dark was his life. He dressed in black mostly and most definitely preferred night to day time, cursing the daytime drivers. Most of his acquaintances assumed his look was comparable to his inner soul.
In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth.
Deep-down he was still a child. Naive in ways that didn't make any sense, given his unfortunate past. He very seldom let that part of his soul shine. It was easier for him to see fear in the eyes of his peers than to have to admit to himself that he must start trusting and start loving again. He didn't like that term - Love. It was so subjective. But he needed it in a way he himself didn't even fully understand.
Would he ever give himself the chance to learn?
-bary j.
He liked his hoodies like his liquor: dark. Dark was his life. He dressed in black mostly and most definitely preferred night to day time, cursing the daytime drivers. Most of his acquaintances assumed his look was comparable to his inner soul.
In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth.
Deep-down he was still a child. Naive in ways that didn't make any sense, given his unfortunate past. He very seldom let that part of his soul shine. It was easier for him to see fear in the eyes of his peers than to have to admit to himself that he must start trusting and start loving again. He didn't like that term - Love. It was so subjective. But he needed it in a way he himself didn't even fully understand.
Would he ever give himself the chance to learn?
-bary j.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
1984
Visions of Tomorrow
. a montage .
?
"And if all others accepted the lie which the
Party imposed -
if all records told the same tale -
then the lie passed into history and became
truth.
'Who Controls the Past,' ran the Party slogan,
'Controls the Future:
Who controls the Present, Controls the Past.'
* * *
It was quite simple.
All that was needed was an unending
series of victories over one's own memory.
'Reality Control'
they called it; in Newspeak 'doublethink'."
- 1984 -
[p. 35]
.George Orwell.
[version? who knows.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"One of these days,
thought Winston with sudden deep conviction,
Syme will be vaporized.
He is too intelligent.
He sees too clearly.
He speaks too plainly.
The Party does not like such people.
One day he will
~ disappear ~
it is written in his face."
- 1984 -
[p. 53]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"By 2050 - earlier, probably - all real knowledge of
Oldspeak will have disappeared.
The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed.
Chauncer, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron
they'll exist only in Newspeak versions,
not merely changed into something different,
but actually changed into something
contradictory of what they used to be...
The whole climate of thought will be different.
In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now.
Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think.
Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." [Syme]
-1984-
. a montage .
?
"And if all others accepted the lie which the
Party imposed -
if all records told the same tale -
then the lie passed into history and became
truth.
'Who Controls the Past,' ran the Party slogan,
'Controls the Future:
Who controls the Present, Controls the Past.'
* * *
It was quite simple.
All that was needed was an unending
series of victories over one's own memory.
'Reality Control'
they called it; in Newspeak 'doublethink'."
- 1984 -
[p. 35]
.George Orwell.
[version? who knows.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"One of these days,
thought Winston with sudden deep conviction,
Syme will be vaporized.
He is too intelligent.
He sees too clearly.
He speaks too plainly.
The Party does not like such people.
One day he will
~ disappear ~
it is written in his face."
- 1984 -
[p. 53]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"By 2050 - earlier, probably - all real knowledge of
Oldspeak will have disappeared.
The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed.
Chauncer, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron
they'll exist only in Newspeak versions,
not merely changed into something different,
but actually changed into something
contradictory of what they used to be...
The whole climate of thought will be different.
In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now.
Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think.
Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." [Syme]
-1984-
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
dreamland - Notre Dame
last night (4/26/2010) i had a dream that apparently I was sleeping with this random guy (he didn't look familiar, he's not from my real life, I don't know how my dream created him) and he was obsessed with saying Notre Dame. He pronounced Dame with the A sounding like "Dahmer" (like Jeffrey Dahmer) and I kept telling him to pronounce it to rhyme with Dane. But he kept saying it his way over and over and over again. Then I woke up.
-b.
4.27.10
-b.
4.27.10
Friday, February 26, 2010
Regarding the future of this U.S. of A
"so what are we gonna have?
dessert or disaster?"
- Knock You Down
dessert or disaster?"
- Knock You Down
Corn Cob In a Frame
"Hmm... Maybe ol' Professor Hardwood is onto something. He probably really loves corn. And all corn-related products.
I mean, isn't that what you're supposed to put in a frame? Things you love? I'm gonna do that. When I'm get home, I'm gonna frame a bunch of stuff I love.
Like lasagna. I *love* lasagna. It's SO good. And cheesy.
You know who else loves lasagna? Garfield. Man, that cat really loves lasagna. Maybe I should put a picture of Garfield in a frame. You know, as a kind of shorthand way of saying 'I love lasagna.' That would be so f*cking inside.
Or how 'bout a photo of *President* Garfield?
Oh shit, that would be totally meta!
People would be all like: Jane, why do you have a photo of President Garfield on your mantle? And I'd be like: Because I like lasagna, of course."
- Jane F.
*Smiley Face*
I mean, isn't that what you're supposed to put in a frame? Things you love? I'm gonna do that. When I'm get home, I'm gonna frame a bunch of stuff I love.
Like lasagna. I *love* lasagna. It's SO good. And cheesy.
You know who else loves lasagna? Garfield. Man, that cat really loves lasagna. Maybe I should put a picture of Garfield in a frame. You know, as a kind of shorthand way of saying 'I love lasagna.' That would be so f*cking inside.
Or how 'bout a photo of *President* Garfield?
Oh shit, that would be totally meta!
People would be all like: Jane, why do you have a photo of President Garfield on your mantle? And I'd be like: Because I like lasagna, of course."
- Jane F.
*Smiley Face*
Saturday, February 20, 2010
My Noah
After much contemplation,
I think I've figured out the key to love is timing.
Timing can be the difference between requited & unrequited love.
Timing could be the difference between two soul mates meeting and passing each other by.
Love also grows with time...and fades with time...
But when the right paths cross each other at the right time, time suddenly stretches to eternity.
-bary
02.26.2007
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Tribute To Brittany Murphy. A Real-Life Angel.
"I wasn't mad, I was confused...
everyone was talking, talking, talking at me
and I couldn't understand a word they were saying,
and then their voices became a blur and soon I couldn't
even recognize their faces; they were like these blobs
and they started to grow fangs and their eyes became
green and I knew I had to run away.
So I packed my knapsack, got on the train, and looked up at
the map and decided I wanted to live on Coney Island. I thought
it would be... you know... a real island. That I thought I could
hide there like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin, but imagine
my surprise...
The teacups were the only ride they would let me on by myself,
so I got on it and I started spinning around and 'round and 'round.
But I feel like I am still there... spinning 'round and 'round and 'round...
and the ride won't stop... You were right, Ray, I am scared.
But you're scared too.
You're scared as I am
and I thought that maybe
if we could go
together...
- Molly Gunn (played by Brittany Murphy RIP 1977-2009)
-Uptown Girls-
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
"Science and Religion are not at odds.
Science is simply too young
to understand..."
- Dan Brown -
*click*
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Fourth Of July
"SOME FOLKS SAID I WRAP MYSELF
TOO MUCH IN THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
THEY SAY I'M NAIVE, LIKE A CHILD.
THAT MY BELIEFS ARE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
WELL, SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT, MY FRIENDS.
SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT ME,
AND REMEMBER THE REASON YOU CAN SAY THOSE THINGS
IS YOU LIVE HERE, WHERE WE'RE FREE
LIBERTY: THAT'S WHAT OUR ANCESTORS HEARD
WHEN THEY MADE THAT BIG BELL RING
LIBERTY! WHAT A SWEET, SWEET SONG...
A PRECIOUS AND HARD-WON THING.
WHAT SO MANY HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR...
HOME OF THE BRAVE, AND LAND OF THE FREE.
A LAND THAT IS GOOD, AND GRAND AND TRUE...
AND THERE'S NO LAND I'D RATHER BE."
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Thing About New York...
"New Yorkers, more than anyone,
don't like things they can't rationally
explain. That goes for non-native
New Yorkers as well."
- James Patterson
You've Been Warned
Pinball Wizard
" Pinball is a metaphor for life, pitting man's skill, nerve, persistence & luck against the perverse machinery of human existance. The playfield is rich with rewards: targets that bring huge scores, bright lights, chiming balls, free balls and extra games. But it is replete with perils too; culs-de-sac, traps, gutters & gobble-down-holes which the ball may disappear [into] forever."
- Anthony Lukas
Bary' Alyssa's mind-blowingly perfect chocolate brownies. [to. die. for.]
INGREDIENTS
- 4 squares of Baker's unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
[optional]
- 25 Kraft caramels
- 2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS
1. Make sure to preheat oven to 350 degrees first thing. Then grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.
2. Place 4 chocolate squares and 1 1/2 sticks butter in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until the better gets just to the melting point. Stir these ingredients continuously until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Add 2 cups sugar to chocolate/butter mixture and mix well.
4. Add 4 eggs to the bowl and mix well.
5. Add 1 cup flour to the bowl and mix well.
6. Spread batter into the baking pan and place into the oven.
7. Bake brownies for 30-35 minutes - give or take - until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out with fudgy crumbles (Do not overbake or underbake! This timing part's a bit tricky - it'll come with practice)
AND OPTIONALLY - DURING BAKING:
- Place 25 caramels and 2 tablespoons of milk into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Stir slowly until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is well blended.
- Gently spread caramel mixture over brownies while they are still in the pan.
- Cool brownies in pan on wire rack.
- Store at room temperature in a tightly-covered container.
- 4 squares of Baker's unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
[optional]
- 25 Kraft caramels
- 2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS
1. Make sure to preheat oven to 350 degrees first thing. Then grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.
2. Place 4 chocolate squares and 1 1/2 sticks butter in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until the better gets just to the melting point. Stir these ingredients continuously until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Add 2 cups sugar to chocolate/butter mixture and mix well.
4. Add 4 eggs to the bowl and mix well.
5. Add 1 cup flour to the bowl and mix well.
6. Spread batter into the baking pan and place into the oven.
7. Bake brownies for 30-35 minutes - give or take - until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out with fudgy crumbles (Do not overbake or underbake! This timing part's a bit tricky - it'll come with practice)
AND OPTIONALLY - DURING BAKING:
- Place 25 caramels and 2 tablespoons of milk into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Stir slowly until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is well blended.
- Gently spread caramel mixture over brownies while they are still in the pan.
- Cool brownies in pan on wire rack.
- Store at room temperature in a tightly-covered container.
Enjoy!
-b.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Columbia-Yonkers Represent
A collection of quotes collected
during the summer of 2008
(when i worked for cumc - yonkers office)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Life; an uncontrollable disaster."
- Ms. Luisa Cerqua
"To live is so startling it leaves
little time foranything else."
- Emily Dickinson
"Life is just a chance to grow a soul."
- ?
"Vigilance is key."
- Tony
"Death before dishonor."
Jay-Z
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
and more of Luisa's musings...
"Do not dwell on the past. Concentrate your
mind on the present moment.
- Anonymous
A dream is an incoherent thought that doesn't
slip out of mind quite quick enough; it has feelings,
emotionsand images that only one could figure out; to
what isleft of a dream is nothing. quite simple so you see;
a journey to figure out what's true and false can end
an adventure of pain and love. A dream is little less
than a feeling but a little more than an emotion.
Can dreams really come true or are we just left in
the dark after the lights turn off?
- Luisa Cerqua
You've Been Warned
08/04/08
"Don, don't go!" she wailed in desperation. "Please!" the woman had begun crying. The tears were geniuine, true, but he didn't trust her anymore. He had decided no longer to rely on anyone's instincts other than his own. He ignored her tears and continued packing.
"I dreamed you died on that island!' She inched toward angry at that point.
"Then so be it," Don hissed under his breath.
"It's not safe," she cried.
"Let it go!" he bellowed, finally, eyes full of rage. "Let me go! You've changed so fucking much I don't even know you anymore. This is it for you and me. I'm leaving. We're over. Do you understand?"
She sobbed silently, nodding in pain. Feeling...no...knowing deep down she'd never see him again.
No one would.
-b.
"Don, don't go!" she wailed in desperation. "Please!" the woman had begun crying. The tears were geniuine, true, but he didn't trust her anymore. He had decided no longer to rely on anyone's instincts other than his own. He ignored her tears and continued packing.
"I dreamed you died on that island!' She inched toward angry at that point.
"Then so be it," Don hissed under his breath.
"It's not safe," she cried.
"Let it go!" he bellowed, finally, eyes full of rage. "Let me go! You've changed so fucking much I don't even know you anymore. This is it for you and me. I'm leaving. We're over. Do you understand?"
She sobbed silently, nodding in pain. Feeling...no...knowing deep down she'd never see him again.
No one would.
-b.
The Art & Tradition of the Hardcover
If he had any 3 wishes in the whole world what would he do?
Lord. Jesus. Jesus H. Christ. The world was in the palm of his hand. The cost? His integrity. All of the goals upon which he had built his life and personality.
But hard times are hard times. Self-preservation instincts strongly urged against this type of situation. He wanted so dearly to ignore them. But they'd brought him this far...
Something inside him told him to turn to God on this particular issue. He'd long ago stopped asking favors from the Big Guy in the Sky, but what the hell...
Lives rested on his decision. A whole lot more than just a few lives, too. Money. Family. Respect. Honor? What would his father do? He'd learned a lot watching Dad's mistakes and always noting where, how & why; why he seemed destined to fail at most things he'd delved into.
His only really success to date? A massive, immaculate library of books. Rare special edition copies. Bestselling novels. All hard-covered. He didn't much care for paperbacks.
Lord. Jesus. Jesus H. Christ. The world was in the palm of his hand. The cost? His integrity. All of the goals upon which he had built his life and personality.
But hard times are hard times. Self-preservation instincts strongly urged against this type of situation. He wanted so dearly to ignore them. But they'd brought him this far...
Something inside him told him to turn to God on this particular issue. He'd long ago stopped asking favors from the Big Guy in the Sky, but what the hell...
Lives rested on his decision. A whole lot more than just a few lives, too. Money. Family. Respect. Honor? What would his father do? He'd learned a lot watching Dad's mistakes and always noting where, how & why; why he seemed destined to fail at most things he'd delved into.
His only really success to date? A massive, immaculate library of books. Rare special edition copies. Bestselling novels. All hard-covered. He didn't much care for paperbacks.
La Familia
07.12.08
They gathered around him awaiting instructions like hunger pups. He had decided, for this one time to go with Her judgement, to deviate. Her input always seemed to wind them up in a heap of trouble, though. Mostly utterly useless nonsense. If it weren't for their family connections, he'd have cut ties with her long ago. She was a liability. Solely for the fact that, under the most extreme and dangerous of circumstances, she let herself be guided by heart and intuition first. Rumor has it, he doesn't have a heart to speak of. No compassion. No feelings. They'd faded away long ago. She knew these emotions were essential to the very nature of staying alive. She knows the value of compromise. He'd never much liked that term. That made things dangerous for him. She felt compelled to watch after him; ensure his safety. All he did was laugh when she offered up the odd bit of advice. She was a joke to him. An anomoly. Didn't she know the rules were not to be deviated from - under any circumstance? Obviously not, as he blamed her for today's situation.
He knew that they were awaiting his orders. If he couldn't damn well find a way out of this disaster, the Board Room would most certainly become the war room. But his mind was elsewhere. There was just too much to deal with.
"Maybe..." he thought to himself, "Maybe if I could get rid of her somehow, the concentration would focus elsewhere. Anywhere but here," he mused. He then brushed the idea away as quickly as it had come. He couldn't let anything happen to her. She was family. His older sister.
by: me (b.)
They gathered around him awaiting instructions like hunger pups. He had decided, for this one time to go with Her judgement, to deviate. Her input always seemed to wind them up in a heap of trouble, though. Mostly utterly useless nonsense. If it weren't for their family connections, he'd have cut ties with her long ago. She was a liability. Solely for the fact that, under the most extreme and dangerous of circumstances, she let herself be guided by heart and intuition first. Rumor has it, he doesn't have a heart to speak of. No compassion. No feelings. They'd faded away long ago. She knew these emotions were essential to the very nature of staying alive. She knows the value of compromise. He'd never much liked that term. That made things dangerous for him. She felt compelled to watch after him; ensure his safety. All he did was laugh when she offered up the odd bit of advice. She was a joke to him. An anomoly. Didn't she know the rules were not to be deviated from - under any circumstance? Obviously not, as he blamed her for today's situation.
He knew that they were awaiting his orders. If he couldn't damn well find a way out of this disaster, the Board Room would most certainly become the war room. But his mind was elsewhere. There was just too much to deal with.
"Maybe..." he thought to himself, "Maybe if I could get rid of her somehow, the concentration would focus elsewhere. Anywhere but here," he mused. He then brushed the idea away as quickly as it had come. He couldn't let anything happen to her. She was family. His older sister.
by: me (b.)
Story In Progress
They met on a bench in Central Park. The moment was magical; typical New York City wintertime with light snowflakes falling.
He was writing. She was reading. They were both Libras. Both under 30. Both lived way downtown and had faced the cold for some Central Park winter inspiration.
Her gloved fingers could turn the pages of her book, while his bare hands were frozen around his pen. They traded. Gloves for a scarf. They forgot to trade back later that afternoon. Each still keeps the other's article of winter clothing as a memento dear to their hearts.
She was reading a Russian novel of love & betrayal. He was writing a story of lust and mystery.
They began talking. They both hated math, loved the ocean, had never been to Australia (though his "Aussie" accent sounded quite real) and they were both attending college in the city. He lived alone in a loft in the Lower East Side. She lived (temporarily) with a rich girlfriend she'd gone to elementary school with...
TO BE CONTINUED...
-b.
He was writing. She was reading. They were both Libras. Both under 30. Both lived way downtown and had faced the cold for some Central Park winter inspiration.
Her gloved fingers could turn the pages of her book, while his bare hands were frozen around his pen. They traded. Gloves for a scarf. They forgot to trade back later that afternoon. Each still keeps the other's article of winter clothing as a memento dear to their hearts.
She was reading a Russian novel of love & betrayal. He was writing a story of lust and mystery.
They began talking. They both hated math, loved the ocean, had never been to Australia (though his "Aussie" accent sounded quite real) and they were both attending college in the city. He lived alone in a loft in the Lower East Side. She lived (temporarily) with a rich girlfriend she'd gone to elementary school with...
TO BE CONTINUED...
-b.
Echo.
06.11.08
His hoodie was Ecko (presumably). It was an inky black with thick white stitching around the hood. It hid his athletic frame, although making him look bigger than he actually was. His complexion was olive - either European or South American. He wore jeans and a brightly-colored pair of sneakers that had only been released in a small number. Less than 450 pairs had been made by a combination of the two most creative minds in the sneaker industry.
He did a double-take as he saw the chick he'd come for pass right by him on the sidewalk. "This is highly unusual," he thought to himself. He wondered anxiously if the situation he'd just encountered was another one of those damned coincidences that seemed intent on driving him nuts.
"Coincidences? God-sends? Warnings? A figment of my imagination?" he went through the various possibilities in his mind like a revolving door. He wished to God that his father was still alive.
He'd have had the right answers. Though the father/son relationship was particularly curious, the young man had come to rely on his old man's input, advice, words of wisdom, utter wit. His father; his best friend - gone before the relationship he'd belatedly fostered had a chance to evolve to a full-bloom.
A tear made its way down his cheek. His tattooed hand flicked it away quickly, before it had a chance to shatter his manly facade. There was a word that described the man's personality with pure clarity: machismo. He defined the word.
He decided then and there to take off running from this f**ked up situation, leaving the (actually) innocent girl to live her life. He knew where he was headed and knew, instinctively, that he'd be left alone there.
"Potential get-out-of-jail-free card situation," he thought to himself. "Peace out, Chi-Town."
He smiled while walking out on both the city and his cantakerous career.
-b.
His hoodie was Ecko (presumably). It was an inky black with thick white stitching around the hood. It hid his athletic frame, although making him look bigger than he actually was. His complexion was olive - either European or South American. He wore jeans and a brightly-colored pair of sneakers that had only been released in a small number. Less than 450 pairs had been made by a combination of the two most creative minds in the sneaker industry.
He did a double-take as he saw the chick he'd come for pass right by him on the sidewalk. "This is highly unusual," he thought to himself. He wondered anxiously if the situation he'd just encountered was another one of those damned coincidences that seemed intent on driving him nuts.
"Coincidences? God-sends? Warnings? A figment of my imagination?" he went through the various possibilities in his mind like a revolving door. He wished to God that his father was still alive.
He'd have had the right answers. Though the father/son relationship was particularly curious, the young man had come to rely on his old man's input, advice, words of wisdom, utter wit. His father; his best friend - gone before the relationship he'd belatedly fostered had a chance to evolve to a full-bloom.
A tear made its way down his cheek. His tattooed hand flicked it away quickly, before it had a chance to shatter his manly facade. There was a word that described the man's personality with pure clarity: machismo. He defined the word.
He decided then and there to take off running from this f**ked up situation, leaving the (actually) innocent girl to live her life. He knew where he was headed and knew, instinctively, that he'd be left alone there.
"Potential get-out-of-jail-free card situation," he thought to himself. "Peace out, Chi-Town."
He smiled while walking out on both the city and his cantakerous career.
-b.
Are we here to test each other?
They sat in disgruntled, yet startled frustration. They didn't understand. They thought they knew the job they felt responsible for. In fact, they had no idea. They felt like amateurs, not the geniuses they once thought themselves. The only problem was they were too foolish to admit it to themselves, let alone to each other.
-b.
-b.
"please put your seats and tray tables in their locked and upright position"
7.29.09
11:30 pm
11:30 pm
He whispered in her ear and she nodded. Her cheeks reddened. He made her feel absolutely divine. She pulled on her North Face fleece vest and he tied up his boots. She pulled her hair up and he escorted her out of their cabin. They were on their way to their favorite place in the woods. It was a short hike to the most beautiful waterfall either one had ever set their sights on. There was green algae growing on the rocks. He took her hand. They sat on their favorite log. He fiddled with his wife's wedding ring.
"Let's do it," she said. "Let's go to India!"
No Warmth In The Wintertime
- No Warmth In The Wintertime -
She stood in the darkest shadows in the bathroom late that evening. An evening that would go on to haunt her...but far worse would be the effect on the ones more closely involved. The nameless, faceless ones that would come to fill her life & her dreams with a horror she'd never have a chance to fully come to terms with...but a fear that would fuel the fire; sparking her inner survivor. A part of her personality she'd never even knew existed, a strength that would prove to pull her through the darkest nights, toughest days & an increasingly painful existence. She'd long preserved this part of her, solely to pull her out of the perils she foresaw - and to help her help those that weren't aware...didn't even have a clue as to what happens when people stop being nice (read: humane) and start being real (read: intolerable cruelty inflicted by those afflicted with a need for control, a lust for money, a deep-rooted desire for power and seeming lack of conscience).
Waves of terror smashed through the curiosity garnered earlier that Thursday. She sat, ears perked, shoulders hunched just below the open window...
She tried to listen through the scratching of the leafless tree limbs against the open pane for - what she could have sworn - was the sound of a close yet distant drill pushing through the siding of her home: 4 distinct & eerie sounds slicing through the night air.
She sat amidst the shadows for hours that night. She nervously moved to almost every corner of the room, spooked by the echoes of the outdoors & finding comfort within the shadows of the room, straining to hear the mechanical sounds again.
When she finally found the courage to peek through the window screen, she saw nothing but a glowing moon. Terror continued to course through her veins. Her instinct had each nerve standing on edge. Something was not right. Something was very, very wrong.
She'd never felt this way before. The terror was different than her childish fear of the dark. It echoed through her soul, leaving her short of breath and shivering. Her entire body trembled.
Her gazed crossed Larchmont, down in the direction of New Rochelle and further still - New York City.
At the time she had yet to comprehend what she was looking at...or for...that rainy night.
As Thursday turned into Friday, she eventually stopped trembling & the panicked terror eased.
She spent all day Friday wondering what exactly she'd encountered the previous night. She'd never felt like that before. The experience was a unique one and she didn't have words to describe the emotional roller coaster she'd unintentionally boarded that Thursday night. A ride that, it turns out, wouldn't come to a halt for years afterward.
She sensed her premonition had something to do with the somewhat controversial information she'd become privy to after spending at least a month as a library assistant for a law firm.
From Day One, her intuition seemed to have been awakened on some level, evoking an almost fight-or-flight response. Once her heightened intuition had surfaced, she foolishly fought to ignore too many gut feelings. She naively thought that by stamping out her intuition, she could ignore whatever it was that was nagging at her. It didn't occur to her that her intuition would become the most efficient tool in her intellectual arsenal.
However, she had been unable to ignore the previous night. Fear: Pure & Raw. Where the feeling came from, she wasn't sure. Not at the beginning, anyway. For some reason, she knew it wasn't the future of her own fate she feared, rather something told her it would come to affect a colleague she'd just started working with.
"It's Lee!" she thought to herself. "I know last night's episode was all about Lee! And I'm scared for Lee in a way I've never felt. Utterly helpless & frightened beyond belief," she noted to herself.
She spent much of Friday considering whether or not she should tell her boss about her fateful premonition. Literally, she agnonized for 8 hours straight about what to do...She had just scored the job and didn't want to come off as some crazy girl fresh out of the college dorms...nor did she want to scare Lee into cardiac arrest.
As the clock drew closer to the end of the work day, she closed her eyes & inhaled slowly. She knew what she had to do.
by: me
She stood in the darkest shadows in the bathroom late that evening. An evening that would go on to haunt her...but far worse would be the effect on the ones more closely involved. The nameless, faceless ones that would come to fill her life & her dreams with a horror she'd never have a chance to fully come to terms with...but a fear that would fuel the fire; sparking her inner survivor. A part of her personality she'd never even knew existed, a strength that would prove to pull her through the darkest nights, toughest days & an increasingly painful existence. She'd long preserved this part of her, solely to pull her out of the perils she foresaw - and to help her help those that weren't aware...didn't even have a clue as to what happens when people stop being nice (read: humane) and start being real (read: intolerable cruelty inflicted by those afflicted with a need for control, a lust for money, a deep-rooted desire for power and seeming lack of conscience).
Waves of terror smashed through the curiosity garnered earlier that Thursday. She sat, ears perked, shoulders hunched just below the open window...
She tried to listen through the scratching of the leafless tree limbs against the open pane for - what she could have sworn - was the sound of a close yet distant drill pushing through the siding of her home: 4 distinct & eerie sounds slicing through the night air.
She sat amidst the shadows for hours that night. She nervously moved to almost every corner of the room, spooked by the echoes of the outdoors & finding comfort within the shadows of the room, straining to hear the mechanical sounds again.
When she finally found the courage to peek through the window screen, she saw nothing but a glowing moon. Terror continued to course through her veins. Her instinct had each nerve standing on edge. Something was not right. Something was very, very wrong.
She'd never felt this way before. The terror was different than her childish fear of the dark. It echoed through her soul, leaving her short of breath and shivering. Her entire body trembled.
Her gazed crossed Larchmont, down in the direction of New Rochelle and further still - New York City.
At the time she had yet to comprehend what she was looking at...or for...that rainy night.
As Thursday turned into Friday, she eventually stopped trembling & the panicked terror eased.
She spent all day Friday wondering what exactly she'd encountered the previous night. She'd never felt like that before. The experience was a unique one and she didn't have words to describe the emotional roller coaster she'd unintentionally boarded that Thursday night. A ride that, it turns out, wouldn't come to a halt for years afterward.
She sensed her premonition had something to do with the somewhat controversial information she'd become privy to after spending at least a month as a library assistant for a law firm.
From Day One, her intuition seemed to have been awakened on some level, evoking an almost fight-or-flight response. Once her heightened intuition had surfaced, she foolishly fought to ignore too many gut feelings. She naively thought that by stamping out her intuition, she could ignore whatever it was that was nagging at her. It didn't occur to her that her intuition would become the most efficient tool in her intellectual arsenal.
However, she had been unable to ignore the previous night. Fear: Pure & Raw. Where the feeling came from, she wasn't sure. Not at the beginning, anyway. For some reason, she knew it wasn't the future of her own fate she feared, rather something told her it would come to affect a colleague she'd just started working with.
"It's Lee!" she thought to herself. "I know last night's episode was all about Lee! And I'm scared for Lee in a way I've never felt. Utterly helpless & frightened beyond belief," she noted to herself.
She spent much of Friday considering whether or not she should tell her boss about her fateful premonition. Literally, she agnonized for 8 hours straight about what to do...She had just scored the job and didn't want to come off as some crazy girl fresh out of the college dorms...nor did she want to scare Lee into cardiac arrest.
As the clock drew closer to the end of the work day, she closed her eyes & inhaled slowly. She knew what she had to do.
"Lee..." she started.
"Yes? Can I help you?
"Lee, I had a really bad feeling last night & um..well...um...this might sound weird, but can you please just make sure you lock all of your doors and windows this weekend?" she blurted out after having spent 8 hours weighing the potential outcome of this situation.
"Yes, I will," Lee responded non-chalantly, as though the young girls request was hardly a strange one.
She dropped her jaw in shock. Maybe she'd been too late to be of any help. Maybe Lee was covering something up.
She desperately wanted to explain the nature of this situation, which she assumed had to do with her recent research, but the old bat hadn't batted an eye...or the e-quivalent, during their Instant Message conversation.
So, what could she do? Hopefully she wouldn't arrive to work Monday morning to find out Lee had in fact been in danger.
This time would be different, the girl feared. It wouldn't be a broken shinbone or a fractured ankle.
For some reason, the word collarbone came to mind. She couldn't shake it. She would pray for her faceless boss. She'd pray for the voice at the other end of the phone line...the fingers communicating with her via IM. She'd have to pray hard. Harder than ever before. She just wished she knew exactly what it is she should pray for. Had she known what was to come, she'd have kept mum in the first place. What was coming would echo across the generations.
The End.
by: bary
Got Jokes?
"An old man is sitting on a park bench across from a little boy, watching him eat candy bar after candy bar. The old man says to the little boy," Son didn't anybody ever tell you that it's not healthy to eat so much candy?" The little boy looks at the old man and says, "Mister, my grandmother lived to 103 and my grandfather lived to 105. The old man asks, "What, from eating candy bars?" The boy said, "From minding their own goddamn business."
Quotes of the day.
"Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand."
-Thomas Carlyle
-Thomas Carlyle
---------------------------------------
"Good thinking deals with causes and effects and leads to logical, constructive planning; bad thinking frequently leads to tension & nervous breakdown."
- Dale Carnegie
------------------------------------------
"Every girl needs a best friend."
- Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic & Sister
"Every girl needs a best friend."
- Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic & Sister
-----------------------------------
"If I die, the truth will be lost forever."
- Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code
"If I die, the truth will be lost forever."
- Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code
--------------------------------------
"People will do anything to survive."
- Steve Buscemi, The Island
"People will do anything to survive."
- Steve Buscemi, The Island
------------------------------------------
"There is a hunger associated with pain when you look at someone you used to love, and enjoyed loving and want to love again...though you know you can't."
- Nikki Giovanni
"There is a hunger associated with pain when you look at someone you used to love, and enjoyed loving and want to love again...though you know you can't."
- Nikki Giovanni
---------------------------------------
"I was 38 at the time. As the saying goes, if I'd known I was going to
"I was 38 at the time. As the saying goes, if I'd known I was going to
live that long, I would have taken better care of myself."
- James Patterson, Along Came A Spider
- James Patterson, Along Came A Spider
------------------------------------------------
"The truth is fleeting when you are competing with the devil
in disguise, who paints pictures of hope & love with lies."
- as axiom by Sarah Sparkles
----------------------------------------
"I'm paralyzed here! I'm a f**king amputee!!"
- Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
----------------------------------
"Our job is to report the news, not fabricate it. That's the Government's job."
- V For Vendetta
-----------------------------------
"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing."
- Kingsley Amis
-----------------------------------------
"Some people have no sense of metaphor!"
- Ani DiFranco
------------------------------------
"My motherf**king brain is IBM-compatible"
- Xzibit
------------------------------
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do."
- Apple Computer TV Ad
----------------------------------
"One never knows what will happen if things are suddenly changed. But do we know what will happen if they are not changed?"
- Elias Canetti
-------------------------------
"Courage is to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends."
- Euripides
---------------------------------
"Never have so many been manipulated by so few."
- Elbert Hubbard
------------------------------------------
"Perhaps the crescent moon smiles in doubt at being told that it is a fragment awaiting perfection."
------------------------------------------
"Beware the fury of a patient man."
- John Dryden
-----------------------------------
"You don't realize you're intelligent until it gets you in trouble."
- James Baldwin
------------------------------------
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."
- George S. Patton
"Never underestimate those that you scar, cuz karma, karma, karma comes back to you hard."
- Lauryn Hill
"We are not humans on a spiritual journey, we are spirits on a human journey."
"The chances are one in a million and you can call me brilliance if I succeed."
- Ani DiFranco
"There's so many people who have turned out their porch lights, just so I would think they were not home, and hid in the darkness of their windows until I passed and left them alone."
- Ani DiFranco
"Nowadays gettin by is nothin more than an occassional meal and gettin high."
- DMX
"The point in history at which we stand is full of promise & danger. The world will either move toward unity & widely shared prosperity or it will move apart into necessary competetive economic blocs. We have a chance, we citizens of the United States, to use our influence in favor of a more united & cooperative world. Whether we do so will determine, as for as it is in our power, the kind of lives our grandchildren can live."
- F.D.R.
"Caesar's wife should be above reproach."
- Mark Hachman(my ex-editor), speaking to me via IM
"TV is, after all, the modern day roman coliseum; human devestation as mass entertainment. And now millions are jeering, collectively cheering, the bloodthirsty hierarchy of the patriarchal arrangement..."
- Ani DiFranco
"Heads you live, tails you die."
- Kiera Knightly, Domino
"We laugh to survive."
"...I climbed that road to your empty house, the anticipation was a turn-on...but you let me down. Cuz I stood on that empty stoop alone, I said 'I'm ready for my close-up now Mr DeMille,' I waited for the light but it never shone...
...and I wonder what you'll do with that expensive piece of land that overlooks a billion years of history - I have a sneaking suspicion you will never understand."
- Poe (songstress, not poet)
"...I hope you can't sleep and when you sleep I hope that you can't dream and when you dream I hope that you wake up screaming about me. I hope your conscience eats at you and you cant breathe without me."
-Eminem
"Once you've lost everything, you can do anything."
-Fight Club
"Because I know the biggest crime is just to throw up your hands & say 'this has nothing to do with me, I just want to live as comfortably as I can'."
- Ani DiFranco
"1,600 scientists, including the majority of living Nobel Prize winners in the sciences have unanimously agreed on the following public warning:
'A great change in the stewardship of this earth
and the life on it is needed, if great human
suffering is to be avoided and life on this planet
is to be irretrievably mutilated.'
Similarly, a group of economists came to the same conclusion in 1997."
-The Future of Money
"What would you do if you had something [deadly] important to tell someone and you knew there's no way they'd believe you?"
-Deja Vu
"...He accepted the laughter and derision...with an embarassed charm and a touchingly astonished grace."
"Bill Gates says 'wait till you see what your computer can become.' But it's you who should be doing the becoming, not the damn fool computer...What you can become is the miracle you were born to be through the work that you do."
- Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without A Country
-------------------------------------------------
"Two eyes, only one gaze
hunger burns like fire.
Do you remember?"
---------------------------------------------------
"A great man once said that right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
- Kit Snicket, Lemony Snicket's The Pentultimate Peril
"He was crippled, but only his body was cracked. 'It's not simple, nor is it an easy matter to explain. Let's just leave it at that,' she says...and closes the holy book of lies. She covers her eyes, denying to herself what she thought happened."
- Thirteen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While these tears are mine to weep,
they're mostly not for me.
They're mostly for my disappointment in humanity.
I'm just waiting for the world to catch up.
by: me
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Definition:
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility."
"You can spot a bad critic when he starts by discussing the poet & not the poem."
- Ezra Pound
"Religion and art spring from the same root and are close kin."
- Willa Cather
"History is a graveyard of classes which have preferred caste privileges to leadership."
- E. Digby Baltzell
"The little girl saw her 1st troop parade and asked
'what are those?'
'soldiers.'
'what are they for?'
'they are for war. They fight and each tries to kill as many of the other as he can.'
The girl held still and studied...
'Do you know...I know something."
'Yes, what is it you know?'
'Some time they'll have a war and nobody will come."
- Carl Sandburg
"The sword of war comes to the world for the delay of justice."
- Jonathan Kellerman, The Conspiracy Club
Just A Few Lessons On Life
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you're sick. Your friends & family will. Stay in touch.
5. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree
6. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
7. It's okay to get angry with God. (S)he can take it.
8. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
9. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
10. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry, God never blinks.
11. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
12. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
13. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
14. What other people think of you is none of your business.
15. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
16. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
17. Believe in Miracles.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you're sick. Your friends & family will. Stay in touch.
5. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree
6. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
7. It's okay to get angry with God. (S)he can take it.
8. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
9. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
10. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry, God never blinks.
11. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
12. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
13. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
14. What other people think of you is none of your business.
15. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
16. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
17. Believe in Miracles.
Quote - for the rough days.
"Suicide is not chosen;
it happens when pain exceeds resources
for coping with pain."
let that one marinate...
Monday, January 25, 2010
An Issue You Should Know About. Seriously.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1930598,00.asp
By: Me and my ex-editor.
V-Chip 2.0 Turns On In March
By: Me and my ex-editor.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Foxtrot
My Very Own Seline Movement
In this book by Peter Lorie, there are lots of references to the role women will play in the future and in the particular section I've chosen to share with you is basically a jumping off point. And it turns out I was the one that would go on to make that jump.
How could that be, you ask? I have no idea. My hands were literally shaking, my entire body trembling inexplicably when I first picked this book up at Border's bookstore. The first time I read this section through I was shocked to my core at what felt like the first publicly accepted "prophetic vision" I'd encountered [Note: the book in its entirety focuses on the writings of Nostradamus. Reportedly, the infamous seer wrote over 1,000 verses (or "quatrains") throughout the course of his life and few, if any of his fans and followers have ever taken on the "laborious" task of navigating through all of the enigmatic "visions" of (what many argue encompasses the world's) future. In Lorie's ingenious if somewhat overlooked Nostradamus tome, the author seeks to piece together Nostradamus' historic quatrains in a way that translates the goings-on of our world from the early 1900s and on through c.2025.
I found that Lorie's passages on women and their role in this evolving world resonated with myself, my own experiences and the undeniable presence of females as population that will undeniably "play a large part" in how the human family makes its way through the potentially perilous (but equally opportunistic for a bright tomorrow). So, following that thought process through the following words penned by Lorie you'll have the opportunity to live vicariously and metaphorically [one would imagine] through what I've experienced in life beginning c. 2006 (and continuing on through the present, toward the future).
- - -
On The Women's Rights Movement...
Women & Power
Introduction:
"The Moon hidden in deep shadows, her brother passes by rusty colored, the great one masked for a long time beneath eclipses, iron will cool in the bloody wound."-Nostradamus
- - -
Warning:
"For those of us who have taken the laborious trouble to read all of Nostradamus's approximately one thousand verses, it becomes evident that a rather large number of them seem to make no sense at all. These are generally attributed to the future - that unmapped country-in the hope that some day an event will occur that will "fit" (almost) the mantle of the prophet's vision" (like the following section and its relation to me!!) "Otherwise, these enigmatic "quatrains" are nothing more than the meandering of a madman who had his moments."- Peter Lorie
- - -
FYI:
"According to the verses quoted below, a large group of women (note from Bary: hm.. could this large "group of women" possibly be just one woman with an old soul who's lived through many lifetimes? That's what I took it to mean. But I could be wrong) will take a militant stand in order to effect major changes within contemporary society."-Peter Lorie
- - -
First come the literal translations of the verses,
and then there follows a more free interpretation.
- - -
"From the shore of Lake Garda to Lake Fucino,
Taken from the Lake of Geneva to the port of "L'Orguion":
Born of three arms the predated warlike image,
Through three crowns to great Endymium.
From Sens, from Autun they will come as far as
the Rhone
To pass beyond and towards the Pyrenees
mountains:
The nation to leave the march at Ancona:
By land and sea it will be followed by great trails.
The voice of the unusual bird is heard
On the pipe (or canon) of the floor
So high will come from the wheat the bushel
That man will be a cannibal to man.
Lightning in Burgundy will make something
portentous,
One which could never have happened through skill,
A sexton made lame by the senate
Will inform the enemy of the matter:
Thrown back because of bows, fires, pitch and
more fire:
Cries, shouts are heard at midnight:
Inside they are put onto broken battlements,
The traitors fled by underground passageways,
Great Neptune from the deep sea
With Punic forms mixed with Gallic blood,
The Isles bleed, because of the late rowing:
More harm will it do to him, the badly conceived
secret.
The beard sizzled and black because of skill
Will reduce the cruel and proud people:
The great Chyren will remove from far away
All those captured by the banner of Selin.
After the conflict by the eloquence of the one that is
wounded
For a short while a false rest is managed:
The great ones are not to be allowed to be delivered
at all
They are returned by the enemy at the right time.
Through fire from the sky the city is almost
burned:
The Urn threatens Deucalion again:
Sardinia made angry by the Punic foist,
After Libra will leave her Phaethom.
Through hunger the prey will make the wolf
prisoner;
The aggressor then in extreme distress.
The heir having the last one before him,
The great one does not escape in the middle of the crowd."
-Nostradamus -- C2 V73-82
- - -
"So perhaps we can first "free-interpret" the lines of these verses
to examine more closely where the prediction leads us":
- Peter Lorie
From the shore of Lake Garda (in northeastern Italy) to the former Lake Fucino (now drained, an area of land sixty-five miles east of Rome) moving from Lake Geneva (in Switzerland) to the port of the Orgueil (to be discussed later) born out of three labors according to a predicted warlike image through three wreaths to the great lover of the Moon (Endymion, son of Zeus, was the lover of Selene, goddess of the Moon).
From Sens (northeast France, then in the Duchy of Burgundy) and Autun (also in Burgundy, one hundred miles from Sens) they will come as far as from the River Rhone to travel as far as the Pyrenees mountains, of those arising in Italy, a group of people will leave the march at Ancona (east coast of Italy); by land and sea it will be followed by great trails.
A big, unusual bird (possibly a bird of prey or a symbol) will be high in the sky where the air is still breathable; down near the earth is a layer that is not breathable, where men live and a famine exists, making men cannibals.
Powers in Burgundy will inflict punishment on the people of the march, and this will be told to the marchers by a disempowered cleric serving the State. They will be repelled by fire and weapons with cries heard at midnight and traitors to the cause will escape through underground passages.
Forces (probably military or police) from the Ottoman Empire and France (a fundamentalist backlash) will stand against the march, coming from the sea, though because of a late start will fail to stop it.
---
Men (bearded), burned by the skill of the marchers, will fight and beat them cruelly. The great comet Chiron will be seen moving far away by all those under the banner of Seline.
After the conflict an eloquent individual who was wounded secures a truce, which proves to be false, for the rest of the marchers, while those leaders who were captured by the enemy (presumably men) are returned at the right time.
Because of bombs or rockets a city nearby is burned: the son of the creator of mankind (Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, the creator of mankind in Greek mythology, whose task it was to renew the human race) is threatened again and the conflict is made worse by involvement from the people of Sardinia, which, after Libra (an astrological reference) will leave her Phaethon (a mythological reference to be explained).
Because of a yearning the women will make the men prisoners, so that they are very distressed. Even if the new heir (woman) stands behind the great one (man), she will now be noticed.
- Free Interpretation by Peter Lorie
- - -
Even Further Translation
"In translating and interpreting these complex and fascinating lines,
we have used a number of devices:
Local historical references and symbols that have some connection with the lifetime and locations of Nostradamus himself...Mythological symbolism from the distant past-such as Greek mythological heroes like Phaethon...A knowledge of history as it has developed up to the twenty-first century-in other words, we are aware that there is a growing feminist movement and have therefore applied this knowlege to the verses.
- - -
Employing the above methods the outlines of a story are revealed, of a march of women across Europe involving a large part of Italy, Switzerland, and France, inititally to establish rights that have not been granted to them, but evolving into a very significant event on the global scene...and by the tone of the overall prediction, this is a major event also in the history of womankind.
The march undertaken...derives from a number of starting points: northern Italy, the area of Rome, from Switzerland near Lake Geneva, and an area that is given the title "L'Orguion" which is interpreted to refer to the town of Orgon, twenty miles north of Salon, where Nostradamus lived, and which was, perhaps either coincidentaly or significantly, an area where in 1864 a meteorite fell. This meteorite was found to contain elements of presence of life in another part of the universe. On closer examination it becomes clear that these items had been embedded there deliberately, in an attempt to create a hoax. This reference may have some significance once the march of Seline Movement occurs.
...In the free interpretation we see that the movement is born out of three labors and a "predicted warlike image" of three wreaths, under the lovers of Engymion, whom we connect through mythology with the Moon. It is said that Nostradamus himself was unable to interpret this enigmatic verse, though there are those in his future who believe it refers to America because of the mythological connection between Engymion and Selene, who put him into a perpetual slumber so that she could caress him at will.
Why this should be seen as a metaphor for the United States is something of a mystery, unless we believe that in the context of feminism, the United States is asleep to the femine spirit, or else that man has put women to sleep so that he may caress her without making love to her.
A more likely explanation is that the banner carried by the women of the Seline Movement contains symbols of labor and three victors' wreaths that have some significance at the time, and this war-like image associated with the Moon is clearly another symbolic reference to the need for an aggressive and powerful stance by women to achieve their ends. The Moon as symbol of womanhood is clear.
The story continues, telling us which regions the marchers will come from and where they will all march to-converging, it seems, on Ancona, on the eastern coast of Italy.
We then read of conditions that sound extreme, to say the least. High in the sky the air is breathable, whereas close to the ground the atmosphere is polluted and men suffer from famine. Nostradamus has a habit of expressing things in an extreme way, but if we consider how our own time would have looked from his vantage point - before the Industrial Revolution, when air was pure, when motor vehicles were unknown and rivers and oceans were still free from pollution-it might well seem to him that our air was not breathable, and that we were suffering from famine. It could also be that he was not necessarily referring to famine in Italy, but in other parts of the world, thus giving us a time frame to date the prediction.
In effect, this Seline Movement, and the march across Europe, are linked to the modern Industrial Age and could therefore occur at any time in the latter years of this century.
We then receive some details of hostile local governments (the Burgundians, in the previous century, had captured Joan of Arc and handed her over to the English for trial) and of escapes through underground passages, together with political and military forces (Punic forces mixed with Gallic blood, which is both Christian and Islamic) being deployed to prevent the march from progressing.
This march will, incidentally, be the first to occur across several borders, a truly international revolutionary maarch. Its route, perhaps coincidentally, according to Nostradamus's description, traces in reverse Hannibal's march against Rome in 218 B.C. during the Second Punic War-traveling over the Alps, down the Rhone valley into southern France and then to Spain-somehow signifying a reversal of historical process. The journey from Rome to Carthage can be seen as a return to the early Mediterranean religion.
In the sky, during the march of the Seline Movement, the comet Chiron will be seen passing overhead. Chiron is an old and regular "friend" of planet Earth. During the 1970s it was thought to be another planet moving in an unstable orbit between Saturn and Uranus, but after a dust envelope was detected around its orbit in the 1980s it was reclassified as a comet.
Nostradamus is very keen on comets, which crop up frequently in his predictions. Because of their cyclical nature, they are a useful device for timing events in the future. Why he should have chosen Chiron to be the comet seen by the women of the Seline Movement is a mystery, because it is not generally visible in the night sky without the help of a powerful telescope; so there may be another reason for this reference. It could be that he was telling us to look at both the comet Chiron and at the mythological associations of its name, in order to give some idea of when this event will take place.
We discover, if we look into Greek mythology, that Chiron was a wise Centaur who, after being wounded, was transformed by the gods into the constellation Sagittarius, which lies between Scorpio and Capricorn in the Zodiac. The sun lies passes through Sagittarius from November to December, up to the winter solstice (December 21/22), so we can infer that the march will take place at this time of year. Unfortunately Chiron, in the course of its solar orbit, is only occasionally visible on Earth, when it happens to be lit by the Sun's rays and we cannot therefore predict a year when this might occur.
The story continues with details of a deal made by one who is wounded and eloquent, which fails, but which results in the return of the prisoners.
The conflict created by these marchers appears to be on a large scale, for we are next informed of bombs, rickets, and "nearby,"a city that was "almost" burned, with involvement by the people of the island of Sardinia, provoked by the Punic foist - the spiritual return to Carthage.
Here we are given a typical Nostradamus reference, combining astrology and ancient mythology.
It takes the form of three separate, though connected, references:
Deucalion
After Libra
Phaethon
Deucalion, King of Phthia, was the son of Prometheus, the Titan who created human beings and gave them fire, in Greek mythology. Liek Noah, Deucalion survived a Flood, let loose by Zeus, in an ark - a moonship, the Mesopotamian version. His task was to renew the human race after its fall, an important metaphor, for Nostradamus sees the evolution of woman as being highly significant in the rebirth of humanity.
The reference to After Libra indicates both a planetary movement and a metaphorical reference to justice. Libra represents the scales of justice, perhaps going to another indication of the Prophet's view of women's ideal place in the balance of society.
In astrological terms it lies between Virgo and Scorpio, and the Sun passes through Libra during October. After Libra takes us to the December/January period in which the comet Chiron returns to our skies. It is as though we are receiving a detailed timeline of the progress of the march. We then learn of a connection with Phaethon.
Phaethon is the Greek word for shining, or radiant. In Greek mythology Phaethon was the son of the Sun god, Helios, and the nymph Rhode. Phaethon plagued his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the Sun through the heavens for a single day. His wish was granted, but Phaethon was so unable to control the horses and the chariot traveled first so high that everyone shivered, and then so close to the earth that he scorched it.
To prevent severe damage Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt, causing him to fall into the Eridanu (Po) river. He was mourned by his sisters, Prote and Clemene, who turned into poplar trees on the banks, weeping amber tears.
The reference reiterates that the Sun is in the astrological house of Libra. The allegorical aspect of these words emphasizes that men will be brought low through their folly. All this apparently takes place in the months December/January of the year that Chiron becomes visible from Earth.
The last paragraph rounds off the story by telling us that whatever occurs in this mighty stand by women, the result will be an undeniable greater presence of the feminine spirit in the world. If we accept this interpretation of the verses, the march by a group called "Seline" is one of the pivotal features of women's evolution, which will develop a militant format in the coming years and will push feminie power and equality further along the road, so forming the central core of the feminine critical mass.
We may presume this, then, to be a very significant event in our future."
-Peter Lorie
Utterly fascinating. Don't you think?
-Bary
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